Saratoga Man Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion

Saratoga resident Jonathan Jianguo Jiang, 47, pleaded guilty this week to tax evasion for failing to report $3 million in capital gains, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to his plea agreement, on Jan. 28, 2004, Jiang incorporated SecureM in the Cayman Islands. He was the director, president, and sole shareholder of SecureM, the DOJ said in a press release.

On April 17, 2004, SecureM was sold to a UK company for at least $8.6 million. From the sale of SecureM, Jiang received capital gains of at least $113,462 during 2004, $195,000 during 2005 and $2,635,575 during 2006, which he willfully omitted from his 2004, 2005, and 2006 federal income tax returns. These omissions resulted in $467,336 in additional tax due, according to the DOJ.

On March 6, 2012, Jiang was charged with one count of willfully attempting to evade or defeat tax for the 2004 tax year. He pleaded guilty to the charge. Due to Jiang’s regular travel overseas, Jiang posted a bond of approximately $2 million.

The maximum statutory penalty for tax evasion is five years in prison and a fine of $100,000.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, the DOJ said in the release.